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Primal Strips Vegan Jerky

Growing up, beef jerky was always a staple for long car rides or road trips. In fact, the snacks were my favorite part of hitting the open road, and since my family always drove when we went on vacation, we hit the open road quite frequently.

In all honesty, road trips are one of my least favorite things in life – I’d much rather hop on a plane and get to where I’m going than take the scenic route – so sometimes the promise of salty, tasty snacks are the only thing that motivate me to get in the car and go. But since I stopped eating meat, not to mention all other animal products, my road trip snacks have been limited to pretzels, crackers, and nuts. Not that there’s anything wrong with those snacks, but I was craving something more.

I first learned of Primal Strips’ existence when I was flipping through the pages of one of my VegNews magazines, and I was definitely skeptical. “Vegan jerky?” I said to myself, that can’t taste good. A couple of weeks later I was at a local food coop and I came across a few flavors and since I had a trip coming up I decided to give them a try.

The first two flavors I tried were the Texas BBQ Soy Jerky and the Hickory Smoked Soy Jerky. From the first bite I was impressed. Not only was the chewy texture very close to beef jerky, but the flavors were great. The soy jerky is a bit more moist than traditional beef jerky, but the texture is nearly the same. I have to say that I did like the Texas BBQ flavor a bit more than the Hickory Smoked, but overall they were both delicious.

I recently came across several other flavors as well as a ‘beef stick’ style that is much like a Slim Jim. The Hot and Spicy Shitake Mushroom Jerky is by far my favorite. It’s got just enough kick and the stick is denser than the soy jerky, which leaves me feeling fuller. I also really enjoy the ‘beef stick’ style Primal Strip.

Other flavors include Thai Peanut Seitan Jerky, Mesquite Lime Seitan Jerky, and Teriyaki Seitan Jerky. The calorie counts range from about 75 calories to 100 calories depending on the flavor, so they make a great low-cal snack for those counting calories. I’ve seen the prices vary from about $1.35 to $1.75 depending on where I buy them, so they are fairly inexpensive as well. I’d definitely recommend these for any kind of trip or outing – try all the flavors to find your favorite!